The present invention relates to connectors for enteral feeding systems, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for cleaning the same.
A new and unique international standard (ISO Standard 80369-3) has been designed to promote better patient safety and helps ensure connectors for other medical delivery systems are not compatible with enteral feeding tubes. This will reduce the frequency of medical tubing misconnections. Use of these new ENFit® Connectors, has been predicted to result in ENFit® enteral formula and other catheter contents to accumulate in the internal threads and internal architecture of the enteral feeding connector. These complex internal architectural features of the enteral connector and subsequent organic debris risks promoting bacteria growth by its complicated design, with difficult to access internal architectural features cleaning the enteral connector will be very difficult.
As can be seen, there is a need for a system and method for a cleaning device available to address the unique cleaning challenges of the Enteral Connector.